Manufacture of inlaid linoleum or the like



Aug. 23, 1932. J. WILEY 1,873,090

MANUFACTURE OF INLAID LINOLEUM OR THE LIKE Filed May 24, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l 111111111111 "IIIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR AA W' Q TEE'PA Aug. 23, 1932. J. WILEY 1,873,090

' MANUFACTURE OF INLAID LINOLEUM OR THE LIKE Filed May 24, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR M5 w 2 EMMA Aug. 23, 1932. WILEY 1,873,090

MANUFACTURE OF INLAID LINOLEUM OR THE LIKE Filed May 24. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 d3 I D2 3 @vg/A INVENTOR .g i 9 W Patented Aug. 23, 1932 we f - JOHN WILEY, or rancasrnn; PENNSYLVANIA, Asslenoa PANY, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, A CQRPORAT'ION OF PENNSYLVANIA MANUFACTURE or Ini AIn'LInoLEu'M on r'n n Lin Y 7 Application fi1edI/ Iayi2 4, This invention relates to'the' manufacture of inlaid linoleum or the like and is particularly directed toward an improved method and machine for th'eproduction of sic-called straight-line linoleum; 2 l i r A large amount of straight-line linoleum is manufactured on" the-well-knownrotary machine. Machines of this-type are very large'and expensive but are'eflective for pro-' ducing large quantities of'material at high speed, However, the range: of patterns which can be produced thereby is relatively limited. By my invention thenumber' of patterns which can be manufactured is ma terially enlarged and highly desirable effects are obtainable. Q r 1 The rotary machine new in 'u'sefemploys die rolls having a circumference 'of 54' inches. The pattern repeats three times around this die roll as it is necessary to employ pin rolls for ejecting the scrap materialand for 'ap plying the remainderfto the backing, and these pin rolls must lie withinfmove' in synchronisml with the die rolls, The pat tern is repeated three time's' around the'die' rolls in present machines in-order-thatthe small pin rolls 'Inay actuate the stri'ppers employed. f H

I. e t d ha i is Qnly nec s a y t actuateja stripper under a portion of. a piece of linoleum on thejsurface 'of-adie roll, and that if proper precautions are'taken, apiece materially larger than the. stripperYm-ay be ejected. I am therefore able to actuate strippers spaced arounda die roll-with asingle actuating pin on the pin roll, but to vary the pattern by having these-stripperszeject portions of-diiferent' size or shape. There is thus obtainable a pattern having a repeat length up to the circumference.ofthe die roll; and where pattern elements having such repeat length are applied to the backing", to

gether withother pattern elements (applied by other die rolls) having the normal repeat rotary "machine 1929, Serial No 365, 25.

TO ARIvrsTRonGcoRK-coM- a a length, a wide variety of effects maybe obtamed. My invention is particularly valuable-in connection with the invention of Charles F.

Humphreys, described and claimed in his 55 application, Serial No.- 363,581, filed May 16, 1929. In that application'there is described a method of making linoleum or the like by applying pattern elements by the die rolls to a portion onlyof the backing,other portions of the backing being covered by pattern elements which are applied by hand. i

This is particularly desirable for the application of haphazard spots of color which V contrast with the general background of I the design, and by my invention spaces in which the haphazard spots are applied may be left as much as 54 inches apart. In the accompanying drawings illustratingthe present preferred embodiment of my invention as applied to'the production of a tile pattern, V

' Figure 1 is adiagrammaticview of the Figure 2 is a transverse of the die rolls employed; I v

Figure '3 is a View taken on theline III III of Figure 2;

View through one Figure 4 is a view corresponding to a portion ofFigure 2 and illustrating-a modified construction; and a Figure 5 is a progressive view showing'the steps in the manufacture ofthe tile pattern, the view being divided into parts 5a and 56 for convenience of illustration. i

The machine illustrated in Figure lc om- I prises a drum 2 having die rolls 3 spaced therearound. 1 Each die roll is supplied with webs 4 of linoleum mix from calenders 5 havi doctor bl The calendered mate'- rial is carried to the die rolls on belts 6Q Platen rolls 7 cooperate. with each die roll. As is well known, each die roll has cutting;

knives on itsfsurface, these'knives being arranged to cut into the web of linoleum miX' and divide it into pattern elements and scrap. I

I Pin rolls 8 lie within thedie rolls 3 and rotatetherewith, the pins being e fective for actuating strippers, hereinafter described, which discharge the scrap'material into con.- veyor troughs 9. Upon continued rotation of the die rolls, those portions which are not Y discharged as scrap are applied to a web 10 of backing material. p -0 Thereis a separate die roll for each color employed in thegeneral body of the pattern, and after theseveral colors have beenapplied by the machine the material travels over an inspection table 11 to a calender indicated generally by the reference character 12. After being calen'dered,

the material is carried to the-ste've' for curing. One of the die rolls 3 is shown in detailin Fi ure 2. It comprises a'shell 13*having Babbitt blocks 14 overthe surface thereof,v

these blocks engaging'knives l5'placed therebetween, Eachlzmve-bounded area is pro} vided with a stripper 16 having a pin: 1-?

" height.

projectinginwardly'of the shell l3-so-as to be engaged by the pins ofthe pinroll8z= 1 The in roll-8 is commonly known as rolland its functionis to eject thoseportions 'jof'thelinoleum web which are not to be ap plied tow-the baclning 1-0. A second pinr0ll' the -s0-called pattern: rollis shown "at- 18.

The function ofzthis roll isto actuate those strippers which were not actuated by; the

scrap roll 8 seas-to fcrcethe remaining pieces of linoleum nnx outwardly against theback- I Y ingilO as it moves with'the drum 2 past the die rolls; c i

Itis difficult, ifnot i1npossible', to so plac'e the knives 15- 611. the periphery of the: die roll that they willall be'ofexactly the same I The cutting edges will usually var in height by a few"thousandths of' an; inoii and itis therefore customary to provide-a clearance of about five thousandths-i of an 'lIlOl1' l36 tW86Zl the die roll and. the-platen 7 so that the linoleum mix is nctfeut-entirely through. The cutting is completed by a stiff brush 7a which engages the-'faceof t'he mate rial andvpushes it down into the'spaces be- Ilh'ave illustrated inFigureS a stripper ltia whose head'has a lengthL, measuring longis tudinally of the die roll; The head of the stripper 16a lies within a knife bounded area of length L. The stripper '16s is-ar ranged to be actuatedby a pin 8aon'the scrap 'rol l*8 and' this same pin 8;: also actuates: strippers 16a and lhaf. The knife-boundthe scrap ofthe linoleum pieces as ed areas for the strippers 16a and 16a? are of length L, there being a knife inserted between the blocks 14 in slots corresponding to the slot 20 in Figure 3. In the case of'the strippers 16a, however, such knife is omitted, as shown in Figure 3.

When the strippers 16a and 16a are ac-- tuated they eject pieces of linoleumof length whereas the stripper 16a ejects a piece of linoleum of length L,

the piece being forcedout from between the rolls by the Stripper as indicatedat 21 and the edge thereof being engaged by the brush 19. V Adjacent each of the strippers 16a 'and lea'f' is another stripper oecupyingthe p0 Siam correspondingato that shown at 166 in Figure It is not essential that a stripper 166 be provided adjacent the stripper 16a since if one is present it is notiactive. However, the corresponding strippers adjacent therst-nippersi 1'60! and 1-60 are act uated by pins in the pattern r0ll:1 8, and are: effectivey for laying, squares of: linieleurrr on the backing; 10. 1 v a stripper 16?) is'zprovided alongside of the stripper 16a,,it will'be'actuated by the same" pin in-ithe pattern: rollasl aetuates: the corresponding strippers along side the strippers- ,16a" and 16a, butsin'ce' c apiece of' lineleum ofv the: length L' has been eJectedby the stripper 1 6a, it cannot Iayany material on thebacki-ng: '10

From-the foregoingiit-will beseen that at one rotation-0t thedie roll there will beElaid on-the backing 1 0 a square-0f linoleum hy the strippenalongside; the stripper 16a and a similar square will be'laid on the backing by the stripper alongsidethe stripper 16a,

gap c1 36 before thereds again laid-a block of linoleum on thebaekin'g byany of, the

goods}: However, the stripper- 167)- will not ay-V anymaterial andfherewilltherefore be a V these two squares being; '18 apart on the strippers alongside the strippers; 16a',-16a" and 16. lt: will be understood, of course, that other; pinsand strippers will coverother partsofthwbecking; Howeven so-far as'this particular set strippers-is cpnoerned, a repeat length other than 18 inches is obtained.

Referring now t'o Fi ure;5, there: are shown the successivesteps in t e production of'alino- 1.2mmtile; patterni In the portion D1 there P1 of li'rruleumiby the lowermost die roll-3; In tlii'sparti culareasemy specialdie" roll is the secondonewhich engages theproduct'and the*efieet thereef'isshownvirrthe parties D2 on Figure 52' I have shown spaced squares-X .which eerrespmrd;ve the areas overwh'ich as strippers" 16a, 16a" mdi 16w pass; I have shown at": S the area: corresponding to that over which therstripper lfibpasses: Byrea son of: thefactathatithfastrippex lfiw'wa'sefie'cs tive for ejecting as sei'apg a piece of material ofswidth. L f(comesponding., to the" width of"- the areaX plusitzhe' width of? the aresSythe elements by the die roll. i The portions D1 and D2 are each illus-' trated as being 5&- inches long-the circumference of each die roll these lengths being subdivided into three portions of length (Z1 and (Z2, each 18 inches long. It will be noted from the portion D1 that the pattern elements applied by the first die roll repeat in each distance all, that is to say, they have the normal repeat length of 18 inches. This is also true in the portion D2, except that D2 differs from the other sections in the omission of the square S. Therefore, while the second die roll applies a pattern which in most particulars repeats itself every 18 inches, such pattern, considered as a whole, repeats itself only every 54 inches. With the exception of the area S, the uncovered portions of the backing are the same in each of the portions 612.

The third die roll is effective for filling in the remainder of the general body of the pattern. The pattern applied by the third die roll is shown at D3 and it will be seen that in this particular case none of the backing eX- cept at the square S is left exposed. It will be understood, of course, that my invention may be applied in those cases where the pattern elements are spaced apart so as to pro-.

duce embossed effects. 7

After the material leaves the third die roll no more pattern elements are applied by the machine and the portion D3 of Figure 5 represents the appearance of the goods as they travel over the inspection table 11. During this travel a brightly colored block is filled in These by hand in the area S indicated at 22. color blocks are spaced 54 inches apart and different colors may be used so as to give still further variety to the pattern.

I have illustrated in Figure 4 a modification wherein a stripper 23, having a width W as measured around the circumference of the die roll, is effective for stripping a section of width W as measured around the die roll, there being a knife omitted at 24 so that the stripper 23 engages a piece of linoleum materiallylarger than the stripper head. Where this arrangement is used the squares corresponding to the squares X of Figure 5' W111 lie in the same line as the squares corresponding to the squares S thereof, instead of sidewise thereof.

I have illustrated and described the present preferred embodiment of my invention and a modification thereof. It will be understood, however, that it is not limited to the form shown but may be otherwise embodied and practiced within the scope of the follow ing claims.

I claim: 1. In a machine for the manufacture of linoleum or the like, a'die roll having knives adapted to cut and define an area of material to be discharged as scrap, stripper means carried by the dieroll and lying within a knife-bound area thereof such stripper means being operable to raise a portion only ofthe material within the knife-bound area, and means for engaging the lifted portion.

.2. In a'machine for. the manufacture of linoleum or the like, a die roll having knives adapted to cut and define an area of material to be discharged as scrap,stripper means carried by the die roll and lying within a knifebound area thereof, such stripper means being operable to raise a portion only of the material within the .knife-bound area, and a brushfor engaging the lifted portion. 1

. 3. In a machine: for the manufacture of linoleum orthe like, a die roll having strippers spaced therearound and arranged insets,

I 4. In a machine for the manufacture of linoleumor the like, a die roll having knives arranged therein adapted to cut material I into portions, the knives beingarranged in a general pattern which repeats around the die roll, but there being a knife-boundedarea in one .repeat differing from the correspondv ing area in another repeat, strippers for ejectmg the materialin such areas, and a common means for actuating the strippers.

5.. In a machine for the manufacture of li noleum or the like, adie roll having knives arranged therein adapted to cut material into portions,- the knives being arranged in a general pattern which repeats around the die roll, but there being a knife-bounded area in onerepeat differing from. the corresponding area 1n another repeat, strippers for ejecting the material in such areas, a common means for actuating the; strippers, and means effective for engaging the edges of the several portions of material ejected by such strippers. j;

6.In the method of making inlaid lino leum or the like, in a machine havingdie rolls, the steps consisting in applying to a backing, by one die roll, pattern elements arranged to repeat at a desired'inter-val', and applying, by another die roll, other pattern elements arranged to repeat at another interval. 1 V V 7. In a machine forthe manufacture'of linoleum or the like, a plurality of die rolls adapted toapply pattern elements to a backin a seriesarranged to repeat at another: in;

' terva'l.

8. Inthe method t making linoleu-m or the like in a machine having die rolls, the steps consisting in, applying-toast backing, by one die roll, pattern elements arranged to repeat at a. desired interval, applying, by another die roll, other pattern elements arranged to repeat at another interval, and adding other pattern elements byv hand.

9. In the method of.making-inlaidJ-linoleum or the like in a machine having die rolls, the steps consisting in applying pattern rolls, the steps conslsting in applying patelements by a die roll, the patternelements being spaced apart but arranged torepeat at tern elements by another die roll or die rolls to fill all the gaps betweenv pattern elements in certain repeat lengths and to fill less than all ofthegaps in other repeat lengths.

,my'handk desired intervals, and applying other patraise: a portion. only of the material within the" knife-bound area, and a brush" adapted to engage material withinthe knife-bounded area whenraised from the die r ll: b fl ;v

14'. line machine for the of stripper.

linoleum or the like, a die rolil having knives atda-ptedtoout and define an; area of. material to be discharged as scrap, andl a stripper 1y ingi within the area defined by the knives, the If stripper having a conformation diflering materially-from the conformation. of-the area 7 defined by the knives.

"In testimony whereof I have hereunto set I JOHN WILEY.

10; In the method of making inlaid linoleum or thelike in a machine having die tern elements by a die roll, the patternelements beingsp'aced apart but arranged to repeat at desired intervals, applying other pattern elements by another die roll or die rolls to'fill'all the gaps between pattern elements in certain repeatlengthsand to fill less than'all of the gaps in other repeat lengths, a'ndcompleting the filling'in of the I 1 pattern by hand.

v 11; In a machine for the manufacture of linoleum or the like, a die' roll adapted to apply pattern elements which are spaced apart but which repeat at a desired interval, i- 1 Y and another'die roll or die rolls arranged to V 1 apply other pattern elements between the 4 v first mentionedpattern elements so as to, fill allthe aps therebetween in certain repeat;

' 7 between the die roll and the platenwi'llbe len ths and to fill lessthan all erable to raise a portion only of the material within the knife-bound v area, and means adapted'to engage material withinthe knifebounded area 'whenraised'from the die roll by the stripper. L

its

13. In a machine for the manutac tureof linoleum or the like, a die roll having knives on the periphe ry'ethereof, a platen spaced from the die roll'so that material passing partially but not entirely out through by the I knives, stripper means carried by the die roll and lying within a knife-bounded area theree of" such stripper means l being operable to 

